Vanessa Rayford is the author of the book The Vegan Fast Foodie: 10 Simple and Fast Vegan Meals which you can purchase HERE.

I decided to go vegan in 2012 after I took a 40 day no meat challenge with my fiancé and his mom. Once I did the challenge, I did more research. I read books and watched documentaries and learned how the factory farms are operated. I also learned how meat causes more harm than good to our bodies. I was disgusted and came to the conclusion that meat is not needed in a human's diet.

Initially, I thought I would be the "vegan revolutionary" in my family and turn every one of my family members vegan. Unfortunately, the best I could do was help a few consider a vegetarian diet for a few weeks. Sadly, my father past away from pancreatic cancer in 2015. He decided to do chemotherapy and it made him lose a lot of weight and energy. I want to use the loss of my father as motivation to spread the word about what being vegan really means.

I want people to consider going vegan, not only for themselves, but also to help save the planet. These factory farms are causing pollution that's affecting our environment in such devastating ways. Our planet is suffering and it's mainly because of what we decide to consume on a daily basis.

My fiancé and I started a brand called The Flyy Lyfe. The ultimate goal is to raise enough money to build youth centers around the world that teaches the youth about the things they don't learn in school such as nutrition, how to grow your own food, finances, starting your own business and much more. Therefore, a percentage of each book sold will go towards that fund.